High current pulse amplifier for driving laser diodes

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The company Genia Photonics, Inc. develops and manufactures a series of fiber based components and laser systems that require programmable optical signal wavelengths, and that are intended for medical, industrial and defense applications. A principal interest for Genia in this project is that their technology which originally delivered wavelengths in the range supported by optical gain fibers (OGF) and electro optics modulators (EOM) is being driven to deliver wavelengths beyond those available with OGFs. Therefore Genia wants to replace the OGF-EOM approach by a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) approach. This would offer them a broader range of wavelengths, significant improvement in tuning range, as well as significant cost reduction. As part of the SOA approach, Genia needs to develop a high current pulse generator system for driving laser diodes, and that delivers pulses in the order of 1 ns and variable up to ~ 10 ns with a current driving capability of up to 2 A. This pulse generation system is to be used in one of the company's laser based products in the very near future. A second generation (also planned for the very near future) of these types of products will require a pulse generation of much narrower widths, i.e. in the order of 100 picoseconds and variable to up to several nanoseconds. The goal of the present project is to develop the first SOA based system as part of a first product development. Genia expects the research and development for this to benefit the development of the second generation pulse generator at a later stage, namely in regard to facilitating the circuits integration into the pulse generator system, training the highly qualified personnel required in research and development in this business sector and minimizing technological risks and development time. This project will help a young Canadian company, but with very advanced technology products, position itself more strongly in the high tech laser systems business sector, which has an interesting potential in terms of economic value for Canadian companies and high tech employment for Canadian engineers.